Collision Review – 05.20.26

We have another tacked-on Collision hour on the back of this week’s Dynamite, so strap in, kids.

Collision comes to the TBS airwaves from the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, ME. The announce team for tonight’s show includes Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, and Tazz on match calls and analysis, Arkady Aura on ring introductions, and Renee Paquette on interviews and breaking news segments. Dynamite ended with a Darby Allin vs Speedball Mike Bailey AEW Men’s Championship match, so let’s see what develops as that finishes up. Let’s watch some wrestling!

It’s a new day, yes it is.

The show officially begins in the aftermath of AEW Men’s World Champion Darby Allin retaining his title over Speedball Mike Bailey. AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight is ringside after preventing further mid-match shenanigans from MJF, who was at the commentary desk for the match (and interfered at one point). Knight grabs a microphone as we see MJF mocking a rather large fan in the audience. Knight tells Bailey to keep his head up and that he’s proud of him for the way he fought tonight. Knight puts over Allin for being a fighting champion with a lot of heart, and tells him to humble MJF’s arrogant ass. Knight tells Allin not to let The Jet and the people down because they’re counting on him. Bailey and Allin dap it up, and then Knight gives Allin a hand up. MJF comes flying back to ringside and mashes Allin from behind. MJF goes to work with right hands. The crowd chants “bald” at MJF as he holds the title belt aloft. MJF gives Tazz his watch and then grabs some hair clippers from under the ring. A recovered Allin holds MJF off and then manages to grab the clippers. MJF scampers away while Allin shows him the clippers menacingly.

Will Ospreay is with Wheeler Yuta, Marina Shafir, Claudio Castignoli and a highly excited Daniel Garcia who urges him to get out there. Ospreay leaves and after a second, Castignoli leaves as well.

Will Ospreay vs Katsuyori Shibata

Excal makes a note of pointing out that Shibata has never been submitted in his entire career. Shibata wants an armbar and there’s a series of reversals until Ospreay ends up in the ropes. Shibata offers a handshake and Ospreay offers his middle finger in response. Ospreay gets a single leg takedown and works a reverse ankle lock. Shibata escapes and fires a knee strike that sends Ospreay to the apron. Shibata hits a back suplex on the apron and follows with another on the floor. Shibata sets up a chair and puts Ospreay on it before kicking him dead in the face. Shibata runs Ospreay back in and fires off some forearms, but when he goes to the opposite corner Ospreay gives chase and wastes Shibata with a high kick. Ospreay starts whaling away with forearms and wants another charge so Shibata follows him and wastes Ospreay with a high kick. Shibata fires forearms, goes to the opposite corner, and eats another Ospreay high kick. Might be time to move on to another spot, guys. Shibata goes to the floor and Ospreay mashes him with a cross-body. We go to commercials.

They’re slugging it out mid-ring when the show returns and Ospreay snaps off a rolling enziguri. Ospreay smashes Shibata around and then gets dumped to the apron. Ospreay hits a Phenomenal Forearm and then starts working Shibata’s elbow. Ospreay hits some massive chops, but gets pulled into a guillotine. Ospreay makes the ropes but gets mashed with an immediate Shibata running shotgun dropkick. Shibata’s cover gets two. Shibata waffles Ospreay with some kicks to his back and chest, but Ospreay fires up with a kick of his own. Ospreay smacks Shibata with an elbow and snaps off a Falcon Arrow that gets two. Ospreay ascends and crushes Shibata with a forearm to the back of his head. Ospreay signals for Hidden Blade but here’s Anthony Bowens out to grab Ospreay’s boot. Shibata uses the distraction to hit Ospreay with his own Hidden Blade before covering and getting a LONG two. Here’s Claudio Castignoli and Marina Shafir out to run Bowens off. Ospreay wants the OsCutter but Shibata catches him and uses Ospreay to cause “Blind” Rick Knox to cower in fear while he goes to the Greco-Roman uppercut on Ospreay’s gentleman’s region. Shibata wants the cross-armbreaker but Ospreay rises to powerbomb Shibata. Ospreay hits a Styles Clash, and the Hidden Blade ends it.

I didn’t mind the over-booking here and I thought this was low-key very good in terms of the back and forth. I think this match moved along quicker here than it would have in say….Osaka-Jo Hall, but Shibata just brings his intensity no matter what his booking is. Ospreay seems to be more focused now but I’m not sure where you could point to anything specific that he’s gotten from this association with Moxley’s goober squad. 4*

Winner – Will Ospreay (Hidden Blade)

Post-match sees Samoa Joe out with a microphone to talk about Ospreay palling around with the Death Riders and how he’s looking forward to seeing Ospreay alone. Joe says he’s going to make Ospreay suffer the consequences of not accepting his offer of friendship and will show him at Double or Nothing exactly what it means. Ospreay says it’s a dream come true for him to wrestle Joe but Joe is insisting on making it a nightmare. Ospreay talks about all the words he’s heard about his injury and comeback and how he’s heard “Joe is gonna kill you” chants for his whole life. Ospreay asks Joe how are you going to kill a man who’s already died in the ring? Ospreay talks about how personal winning the Owen Hart Cup would mean to him because of the chance to main event at Wembley. Ospreay says the Death Riders have built him into an assassin and Sunday he starts his road to win the Cup and then go on to win the World Championship.

Okay, this was pretty great in terms of a promo battle. I don’t know how many more BIG matches Joe has left in him but I suspect he will be going all out on Sunday.

Here’s Adam Copeland and Christian Cage chatting about how they met and how they’ve done everything together. Copeland talks about how long all of us have been watching him and Cage and how FTR wants to kill it all off. Copeland wants the best version of FTR on Sunday because they want to beat the best FTR and make them say “I Quit”. Cage says FTR has made some questionable choices, and because of those choices Copeland and Cage are going to fuck them up in NYC.

Rush vs TJ Crawford

Rush accepts a handshake and then mashes Crawford with a right hand. Rush batters Crawford in a corner and then crushes the poor bastard with The Horns. Shockingly, that ends things.

That’s how you stomp grapes, Rush! No rating

Winner – Rush (THE HORNS)

Post-match sees Rush grab a microphone while standing on top of Crawford’s chest. Rush reminds everyone what happens when you mess with the Bull. We go to commercials.

AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship Five Minute Eliminator: Divine Dominion (C) vs Kayla Lopez and Elle Valentine

Bayne yanks up Valentine just after the bell and drives in a shoulder a bunch of times in a corner. Valentine slips a charge and slaps a quizzical Bayne in the back. Bayne turns and rams Valentine face-first into a turnbuckle before crushing her with a lariat. Bayne bullies Valentine to their corner and beats her up a bunch before tagging in Kross. Kross bullies Valentine around before crushing her with a helicopter side suplex. Kross fires Valentine into her corner where she tags in Lopez. Lopez runs directly into a high kick from Kross. Bayne tags in and she and Kross brutalize Lopez a bunch before Valentine charges in. They both get hit with vertical suplexes before Kross ends things with a chokeslam on Lopez.

That’s how you stomp grapes, Megan and Lena! 1*

Winners – Divine Dominion (Kross chokeslam on Lopez)

Hey, Mick Foley is hosting the Buy-In alongside Renee Paquette. Good for him, I guess. After Excal rattles off a million upcoming matches, we go to commercials.

AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) (C) vs The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong)

FTR are accompanied by Stokely as usual. FTR attack prior to the bell and want a stuff piledriver on Cassidy, but Strong breaks it up and Cassidy grabs a jackknife roll up on Harwood for two. FTR bail to remove their ring jackets and antagonize a few fans, so Strong charges out to start whaling on both of them in the aisle. Cassidy ascends and drops the Savage Elbow on Wheeler and Harwood. Strong follows Harwood in and chops him around a bunch before hitting a back body drop. Strong hoists Harwood up and tags in Cassidy. Strong hits a lungblower and Cassidy wants the Orange Punch but Wheeler drags Harwood to the floor to prevent further damage. We go to commercials.

Harwood has Strong in a rear chinlock when the show returns. They start chopping each other and Strong snaps off a backbreaker. Wheeler gets a tag and mashes Cassidy off the apron before running into a Strong clothesline at the same time as he was delivering one. Strong has busted open his calf somehow, but he and Wheeler manage to make tags. Cassidy mashes Harwood and a charging Wheeler around before ascending for a elbow drop on Harwood. Cassidy gets caught by FTR who want a double suplex, so Strong charges in to save Cassidy from that occurring. Strong sends Harwood into Wheeler and Cassidy grabs a sunset flip on Harwood that gets two. Strong drives Harwood to the floor and Cassidy follows with a tope suicida. Cassidy tosses Harwood back in and Wheeler gets a blind tag. Harwood yanks Cassidy into a spinebuster and Wheeler covers Cassidy for two. Wheeler punches Cassidy down and chats with the crowd before starting some left jabs. Wheeler mashes Cassidy with a chop and then slaps on a cobra clutch. Cassidy escapes but is cut off by a tagged-in Harwood. Harwood slams Cassidy but misses some elbow drops, and then Wheeler flies past Cassidy as well. Strong gets tangled up with Wheeler and driven to the floor by Harwood in lieu of being in the corner for a tag. Cassidy gets pulled into a Harwood spike piledriver and barely manages to kick out at two. We go to commercials.

Cassidy got a visible pin during the break, just for the record. FTR mash Cassidy around in their corner after the ref misses Cassidy tagging in Strong. Cassidy fights his way out of the corner and he finally does get a legal tag to Strong. Strong mashes FTR around a bunch and drops Harwood with a Saito suplex before chopping him a bunch in their corner. Cassidy tags in and Strong launches him into Harwood before tossing Cassidy into a DDT on Wheeler. Strong hits a between-the-ropes dropkick on Harwood while Cassidy gets a LONG two while covering Wheeler. Harwood yanks Strong off the apron and rams him into a ring post while Cassidy gets caught by a Wheeler lariat. FTR miss a Shatter Machine and Cassidy yanks Wheeler into a jackknife roll up for two. Harwood tags in and they both mock Cassidy’s “hands in pockets” routine for a bit. Harwood and Wheeler eat a Strong dropkick and Cassidy covers Harwood for two. Harwood clubbers away at Cassidy and calls for Stokely who jumps up on the apron. Stokely tries to hit Cassidy with what Schiavone calls a “stolen watch” but Cassidy sees it coming and slips out of the way when Harwood charges. Cassidy rolls up Harwood for two. Harwood ducks an Orange Punch but can’t duck out of a Stundog Millionaire. Cassidy runs into a Shatter Machine and Strong breaks up the cover at two. Strong drives Wheeler to the floor with a lariat. Harwood and Cassidy slowly rise and Cassidy eats a bunch of uppercuts before pulling Harwood into a backslide that gets two. Harwood pushes Cassidy towards the ropes as the referee ducks out of the way, and that allows Stokely to blast Cassidy with the watch right in the head. Harwood covers Cassidy and gets three.

I really felt good about this match until this shit finish. If you’re gonna make me sit through three segments and a twelve minute overrun, at least give me a clean finish, that’s all I ask. You want to do some heel shit after the match, so be it, but nothing about this finish lends itself to anything around their “I Quit” match at DoN. Anyway, as I said, I liked this a bunch. The finish hurts it in my opinion. 4*

Winners AND STILL AEW Men’s Tag Team Champions: FTR (Stokely interference, Harwood covers Cassidy)

Post-match sees Excal run down the Double or Nothing card as FTR celebrates in the ring. The DoN graphic comes up and we’re out.

The bookend matches on this part of the broadcast were really good (Shibata-Ospreay and FTR-Conglom) but the rest of it was just there. You can’t look a gift horse in the mouth when it comes to Collision, though, so I’ll take what I can get. The heat for Ospreay and Joe should be incredible on Sunday. I’m looking forward to that and to see the booking for MJF-Darby since Darby is the betting favorite somehow.

Thanks for reading and commenting.